Welcome to our series of introduction to book marketing for the 21st century, member posts.
If you are interested in what it means to be a writer looking for readers online, this first post describes some of the general challenges you will face. You are not obliged to carry out the tasks outlined in this or the other posts in this series, but if you do you are likely to find more readers.
BooksGoSocial provides a real boost in terms of the reach for your book, but if you can work with us, in the areas that suit you, you will find your development as a writer, who finds readers, will grow faster.
Writers are under increasing pressure. Low advances, intense competition and the pressure to self-market, to engage on social media, are making our jobs more challenging than ever.
I embrace this challenge. I hope you will too. Being social is about using the social media tools that we are presented with. Love them or hate them this is the world we live in.
1. Embrace proactivity. If you have never written a blog post, never Tweeted or made a YouTube video, now is the time to learn. Old dogs can learn new tricks. See a post as a short article you have been asked to write, a Tweet as a link to something interesting and a YouTube video as a chance to talk.
2. Embrace openness. I know many people think this means discussing our health problems or what we had for lunch, but it’s not. It’s about professional openness. That means talking about the ups as well as the challenges of being an essay writer. It means talking about our journey. It means discussing the work that interests you and the craft.
3. Don’t be afraid. Follow people on all the social media services. Don’t be shy. Many people I follow thank me for bringing my writing to their attention. Others don’t value it, but I am happy that I have found lots of people who do like my writing.
4. Do it every day. There will be some days you can’t, but aim to weave 30 minutes of social media into your daily routine. If that means giving up on TV or Soduko so be it. Do you want to find people to read your work or not?
5. Seek real connections. Look to transcend the tools. If you can make real connections with people, do it. It’s about helping, encouraging, being positive, all the things that make us social beings in the real world.
6. Work with others. Expand your potential by pulling people together into a network if you can. That can mean helping the writers in your writing group grapple with all this or helping people online. If you can share your good fortune in some way you will receive a return.
7. Keep yourself fresh. Read widely, spend lots of time offline, write daily. Keep your mental and physical self ready for the ups and downs of the writers life. Social media is part of the writer’s journey these days, the way newspapers and radio were for earlier generations of writers.
Please return to the main member area to find other posts in this series.
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This article was a perfect boost I really needed. It was so encouraging, especially since I am currently at that point of feeling overwhelmed as an indie author trying to get my work noticed, or make even a resounding budge of progress. Also, I especially found point #3 really helpful since I am also what one might call “social network introvert”. I know, oxymoron. Anyhow, thank you so much I found this article to be a real shot in the arm! 🙂
Thanks, Rae. It’s not an easy road for writers, but we have a worthwhile destination to aim for and great people to meet on the way. I wish you all the best for the next stage of your journey.
I appreciate the time you took to write and post this. As I am somone new to social media I had a few questions answered. I am still in the developing stages and trying to find my balance and identify what is effecient use of my time.
Thanks, peace
Sunny
Great advice good to know these things. I am new to the book writing world and I didn’t know the first step except to write a book. I will take all 7 points in to consideration. Thank you for the advice, it will help.
I thought writing was challenging but getting my book out there is the biggest challenge so far. Thank you for the advice, I will follow it closely and let you know of the result.
So… you’re supposed to waste 30 minutes a day on social media AND spend time offline to refresh. Anyone notice a fundamental clash with the laws of physics there?
How is it wasted, if a writer finds readers and an income this way?
I had this ridiculous idea that putting my book up on Amazon would magically attract interested readers…duh. I wish I’d found BooksGoSocial a little sooner. Thanks
That is exactly what I thought too! I really imagined that my ‘brilliance’ would shine out somehow. I also thought that if you sold fifty books one month, it would be sixty the next and eighty in the third month. I thought it would be relatively easy to get to best seller status, just ticking along with magical increases in book sales each month.
How wrong I was. A year on from my first book, I am a little wiser and more knowledgeable and realise that there are thousands of very good writers all competing for each parting of cash! I endorse the ideas and advice of BooksGoSocial completely and wish I had not had to learn the hard way!
Thank you for the article and tips. I have avoided social media until now and was very pleased with myself! It caught up with me in the end! The adventure begins!